In Baltimore, people don't really believe it's Spring until the boys in orange and black hit the diamond in late March/early April. The O's came into Opening Day 2014 with a mission this season which all begins with defeating the defending world champions Boston Red Sox. Baltimore gets off to a good start for 2014 beating the Red Sox by a score of 2-1.
Red Sox starter Jon Lester, who rarely los...

While the weather outside is supposed to be frightful, the Hot Stove Season seems to have reached its Yuletide period of rest. Several of the “big names” have splashed around in the headlines establishing the market pricing. Now teams and players alike take their wish lists to Santa Claus only to realize that jolly old Saint Nick is powerless amid the face of supply and demand.
There are o...

The 2012 Phillies roster has begun to take shape. At this point it is mostly by addition with a few expected subtractions but look for a lot more changes by end of the calendar year. As of Thanksgiving, it remains to be seen whether Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson and Raul Ibanez will return to play for the Phillies next year. Should any of them choose to exit as free agents this winter, the club ha...

For Phillies fans hoping that Ryan Madson would remain the hometown bullpen hero at Citizens Bank Park, it may be disappointing to hear this news. Former Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon has become the newest Philadelphia multi-millionare and will be the Phillies closer into the foreseeable future.
The Associated Press reported Friday that the Philadelphia Phillies and Papelbon have agreed to a...

Jim Thome is once again a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. It is not a surprising move, but it is an interesting one. Both parties sentimentally hoped to reunite during the 2011 season, but the Minnesota Twins traded Thome instead to the Cleveland Indians (his original team) in August. Thome has maintained a strong relationship with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who has been a big influe...

The Indians have been struggling recently. They have lost 6 of their last 7 and lost 2 straight series' at home to sub .500 teams. The Indians have been a good home team too, which makes this stretch more dire when it comes to what needs to be done. The problem is that the offense is just putrid over this stretch and the lineup is starting to feel like its decimated by injuries. Sizem...

The Bad news: The Indians bullpen gave up leads and the team was .500 on a road trip against 2 sub-.500 teams. The Good News: The Indians have struggled on the road all year and managed to go .500 through 8 games despite the bullpen struggling to maintain leads. The Indians definitely did not have their best series' this week, but its all about perspective sometimes. While they wer...

As the Indians continue to rebuild, this season's storylines revolve around the development of young guys like Matt Laporta and Carlos Santana.
Grady Sizemore's health is another thing to keep an eye on. He's in the final year of his contract, and if he can stay on the field and contribute his trade value will increase if the Indians decide to shop him.
It's going to take time in Cleveland.
I...

Having watched the Indians over the years, I can say that Victor Martinez is one of the top catchers in the league. Martinez is a four time all-star. He has a great bat, fairly good power and great average, was able to improve his defense. When he left Cleveland, he was a well above average hitter, and a slightly above average defensive first baseman and catcher (his numbers don't take...